PA #6: up to 120 cm of fresh snow!

It’s been dumping in the northwest and north of the Alps since Friday. Locally they already measured 120 cm of fresh snow in the Swiss Glaner Alps, but on average about 40-90 cm of fresh snow came down. The snow line dropped deep into the valleys. It will continue to snow on the north side of the Alps until Tuesday, but the snowfall won’t be that intense anymore. A high pressure will take over after Tuesday. That high pressure area will keep the storms at a distance. Only the storms over the Mediterranean might bring some snow. It will definitely snow in the Italian Apennines, but I’m not sure if the Italian Alps will also get some fresh snow. In this forecast:

• 50-120 cm of fresh snow in the north(west) of the Alps
• More snowfall in the northern Alps
• Discount on Mountain Academy
• PowderAdvice the next couple of days
• High pressure will keep the storms at a distance

50-120 cm of fresh snow in the north(west) of the Alps

I can write a lot about the snow that came down the last couple of days, but you’d better check out the reports that were posted on the PowderQuest app.

More snowfall in the northern Alps

It will keep on snowing in the northern Alps on Sunday, but the intensity decreases on Monday. It will be dry after Tuesday, but it remains cold on the north side of the Alps.

The avalanche danger is due to the large quantities of fresh snow, wind and (where there is something of a base) a weak base layer CONSIDERABLE (3) to HIGH (4). Please read your daily local avalanche forecast and adapt your plans to it.

Discount on Mountain Academy

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PowderAdvice the next couple of days

There finally is a lot of fresh snow, but keep in mind that:

1. There’s no base below 2000 meters in western Switzerland and the French Northern Alps
2. There’s an old and very weak snow layer above 2000-2500 meters in western Switzerland and the French Northern Alps
3. The weather will unstable the next 48 hours with poor visibility once in a while

With conditions like that, you’d better choose resorts that already have a base and where you can already ride powder without getting into trouble. I’m talking about the resorts in Switzerland that are situated east of Engelberg, Vorarlberg and the northwest of Tirol (and of course the Kleinwalsertal). Until Wednesday, you can ride powder during PowderAlert #6 in:

• The northern Alps west and especially the resorts east of Engelberg
• The northern Alps central and especially Vorarlberg
• The northern Alps east and especially the resorts in the Salzburgerland and the northwest of Styria

With the right knowledge you can certainly ride powder in the French northern Alps and western Switzerland. I’d go to resorts where they have plenty of alpien meadows and there’s little risk of hitting sharks. Save your P-Tex!

High pressure will keep the storms at a distance

The storm cycle that brought us two PowderAlerts will come to an end on Wednesday. A huge high pressure settles over central and northwestern Europe blocking all the storms. Only in the Mediterranean you’ll find an active low pressure area. This certainly will bring snow to the Apennines, but we’ll have to see whether the unstable air knows how to reach the Italian Piedmont. More about that on Monday!

Stay stoked. Morris